wygant



L. B. WYGANT.

ELECTRICAL BALE TIE WELDER.

APPLICATION man Jun/10.1917.

QB patented July 8, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

@LIE

Mmm/Ey.

i.. B. VVYGANT.

ELECTRICAL BALE TIE WELDER.

APPLICATION FILED IIILYIO,I9I1.

afents July 8, 191%.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

nnrrun sTarEs rarjnnr ELETRICAL BALEJE TWELEER.

Application filed July i0, 191?.

To all whom t may concern.'

Bc it known that'l, Lrlwis B. WYGANT, a citizen of the United States,lresidin at Vincennes. in the county of Knox and tateL of Indiana, haveinvented newand useful Electrical Bale-Tie Vxeldcr, of which thefollowing is a speciiication, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings and to the letters and figures of reference marked. thereon.

This invention relates to improvements in f tie-welding baling pressesof the typel described in Letters Patent No. 1,232,648, granted tomeJuly 10, 1917, and has refer' ence more particularly to improved meanslfor electrically welding two wire portions together and severing thewelded wire por- Y tions.

An objectief the invention is to provide improved means tor'electrically uniting wires to form bands on bales of hay orf` othersubstance which may be formed in baling presses, an aim being toelectrically weld the Awire or wires outside of the baling press withthe minimum risk of igniting the sub-, stance being baled. Anotherobject is to provide means whereby the ope-rations of welding andsevering the banding wires may be conducted outside of the balingchamber s0 as tobe under the observation of anoperator or attendant. Afurther object is 'to provide improved welder heads and cuttingappliances, and improved means for operating and controlling them, andwhich shall be of simple and inexpensive construction and suitable foruse in baling presses, and be reliable and etlicient and also durableland economical in use.

Wvith the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the inventionconsists in elec- ;-trical welding apparatus and controlling bandingwires; Fig. i is a plan of a device Specification of Letters Eatent.

:tortransferring the welded portionsof the wires to the cutters to besevered; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section approXi-- mately onthe line V-V on Fig. l; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation showing thcwelding apparatus and the cutting apparatus; Fig. 7 is a fragmentaryside elevation of the welding apparatus and the cutting apparatus; Fig.8 is a sectional elevationapproximately on thefline vill-HH on Fig. 7Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section approximately on the line X-X on Fig. G;Fig. l() is a perspective view of one of the devices comprised in theinvention; l1 isa fragmentary elevation or the baling press and partsAof the invention thereon; Fig. l2 is a sectional elevation approximatelyon the line Kil-XH on Fig. 7 but with the working parts in differentpositions; Fig. 13 is a perspective view or an assembly of cooperatingparts comprised in -the invention; Fig. 14 is a :fragmentary sideelevation ot the baling press having the improvements thereon; and, Fig.l5 is a fragmentary section approximately on the lin`e- XT XV on F ig.le.

Similar reference characters on the'various figures of the drawingsindicate corresponding parts or features of construction -hereinreferred to in detail.

-For a clear understanding otl the invention, portions ot the balingpress forming the subject matter of said Letters Patent are illustratedand will be briey referred to; the trame or body part of the balingpress comprising bottom rails 1 and 2, a floor plate 3 secured to therails, side plates t and 5 secured to the rails respectively top rails 6and 7 secured upon theside rails re spectively, and a top plate 8secured upon the top rails, so as to constitute a compression or balingchamber provided with a hopper, 9 through which te reed the substanceinto thebaling chamber. rEhe side plates have horizontal slots l0 and iltherein respectively to permit the banding wires to be drawn into thebaling chamber. [a ram head l2 is movably arranged in the baling chamberand it has side plates 13 and il? in which are Ahorizontal slots 15 and1S respectively, the ram head having a continu.- in'g slot 'or slots topermit the passage or the banding wire out through the ram head.

'The ram head is provided with a pitman 17 vthe. pinion rotates.

having a shaft 20 fixed thereto. An intermittent-motion wheel 21 isrotatably mounted on the shaft 2O and has a segment of its peripheryprovided with gear teeth 22, the remainder of the periphery being smoothto form a circular guide. The wheel 21 is provided with a crank pin 23on its outer side. An intermittent-motion pinion 24 is mounted below thewheel 21 and adapted to be intermittently rotated a revolution at a timeby the gear teeth 22, the pinion having a crank pin 25 thereon, For thepurposes of the vpresent invention an arm 26'is rigidly secured to thecrank pin 25 and is provided with a crank pin 27 that islocated so astobe carried in advance of the crank pin 25 as Spools 28 and 29 aremounted on opposite sides respectively of the main frame of the machine,and wires 30 and 3l are unwound from the spools respectively to beoperated on by the electrical welding apparatus, the wires being guidedrespectively by means of tensioning devices 32 and 33 mounted oncross-heads 34 and 35 that are movably guided on the main frame I andconnected to rocker arms 36 and 37 respectively which are secured to ashaft 38 mounted on the under side of the machine frame, so that thewires are guided on opposite sides respectively of the baling chamber. Aconnecting rod 39 is connected with the rocker arm 36 and' also with thecrank pin 23. A rock-shaft 40 is mounted on the under sideof the mainframe and has-a gear'segment 41 secured thereto which has a Wrist pin 42to which a connecting rod 43 is connected,'the latter being connectedalso With the crank pin 25. A shaft 44 is verticallyarranged androtatively mounted on one side of the main frame ofthe machine so as tobe outside of the baling chamber andit is provided with a gear segment45 that is in mesh with the gear segment 41. Preferably the, rock-shaft40 has an arm 46 to which a spring 47 is connected, the spring being'suitably anchored under the baling chamber for assisting to turnthefrock-shaft in one direction. The ends of the wires 30 and 31 are tobe brought together and united to form a loop into which the material ispacked and forced along through the baling chamber, as will beunderstood. In the present case the Wires are again united on theoutside of the baling chamber to complete the band or bale tie. In somecases each bale is provided with two bands or ties, as will beunderstood. A

rlhe improved welding apparatus is mounted on the main frame on theopposite side thereof from that on which the shaft 44 is mounted and soas to be outside of the baling chamber; and as explanatory of one.

formof construction comprises two guide .bars 46 and 49 which aresuitably mounted in upright position on the frame of the machine, asuitable cross-head 50 being arranged between the guide bars andsuitably' guided thereby for vertical. movement. A suitable Welder head51 is arranged between the guide bars and the machine frame and securedto the bars. The Welder head has a recess extending downward from thetopthereof, guides 52 and 53 being provided at the opposite sides of therecess. head preferably has also a pocket 54 extending downward from therecess, and a channel 55 extending downward from the pocket and throughthe Welder head. The Welder head has a block or die 56 which is adaptedto constitute an electricalvterminal and is arranged in the recess andmovably guided by the guides 52 and 53, the top of the block having a.groove 57 therein to receive the banding wires, the lower portion of theblock having a socket 58 therein. A coil spring 59 is seated in thepocket 54 and in the socket 58 and yieldingly supports the electricalterminal block. An electrical contact rod 60 is secured to the block 56and eX- tends downward through the channel 55 to operate as a circuitconnector when the bloclr is forced downward. -A suitable electricalcontact device 6l is mounted on a bracket 62 which is secured to theguide bars 48 and 49 so as to support the device below the rod 60, thelatter being held away from the device excepting when the electriccircuit is required, a circuit wire 63 being connected with the device61. It will be understood that the wire 63 may be arranged to serveeither as a feed wire or a ground connection. A'shear base' 64 issecured to the The Welder guide "bars 48 and 49 and has a cutter or Ishear blade 65 rigid thereon and supported in the space between theterminal block 56 and the cross-head 50 and so as to be slightlyAdescribed and includes a contact device 61 mounted on a braclretv 62and having a cirv cuit wire 63. Each set of the welding appliancesincludes also a movable welder head 66 which is arranged above thestationary welder head and rigidly secured to the cross-head 50, anelectrical terminal block or die 67 being provided with insulation 68and secured to the head 66, the front of the block facing downward andhaving a groove 69 therein which is opposite to the groove in the lowerterminal block. The head 66 has a channel 70 therein through which acircuit wire 71 extends which is secured to the terminal block 67.Movable shear blades are provided to coperate with 4the stationarycutters or blades and each onev comprises a base 72 secured to thecross-head 50 and a cutter or shear blade 73 rigid on the base andfacing upward so as to coper- 5 ate with the cutter G5 on upwardmovement of the cross-head, which movement causes the block 67 to becarried away from the block 56. The arrangement is such that when thecross-head is moved downward the L0 upper ones or movable welder headsarev moved downward. toward the stationary heads, .and the lmovablecutters are drawn downward away from the stationary cuttersl One form ofmechanism whereby to oper` ate and control the cross-head 50is'illustrated and comprises head plates 74e and 74 rigidlysecured tothe cross-head 50, one for each set of welding appliances, the platespreferably being made separately but constituting portions of thecross-head. rlhe l upper one of the plates has a wrist 75' thereon to.which a link 76 is connected. A

' pivot- 77 is secured to the machine frame and supportsa working-beam78 that is connected at one endwith the link 7 6. shatt and also withthe opposite end or the working-beam 78, so that when the pinion is rof"tated a complete revolution the cross-head 'is caused to move 'downwardand'then upward to .its startingpoint. Another shaft 83 1s rotatablymounted under the machine frame and extends across to the opposite sidethereof, a gear wheel 8d being secured to the shaft and meshing with thepinion 80. r-it the opposite side of the machine frame a ratchet 40wheel 85 is secured to the shaft 83 and has ratchet teeth 86 thereon, alever 87 being v-rotatively mounted on the shaft adjacent to the wheel85 and having a pawl 88 thereon rthat engages the ratchet teeth. lconnecting rod 89 is connected with the lever 87 and also with the crankpin 27, so that the ratchet wheel is partially rotated on each movementof the pinion 24, the arrangement being such that a partial rotation oi'the wheel 8e causes a complete rotation ofthe pinion 80.

@ne of the wires being on one side of the baling chamber and extendingadjacent to the welder heads, the opposite wire is to be pushed from theopposite side of the machine through the baling chamber Aand hoth wiresto the Welder heads, and for this purpose push bars 90 and 90' areprovided, one' for each bale band, and in the present case as preferablyconstructed they are curved and rigidly secured to the upright shaftall.

Each pushbar has a head 91 thereon prol. v1ded on its opposite; endswith rollers or vguide'deviees 92 and 93 'that are spacedl aparty so astospan the welder heads and 6'5 take the wire portions over to the spacehe tween the heads and hold the wire portions while being electricallyunited.

device is provided for moving the united wire portions away from theWelder heads and holding,r them between the cutters to be'severed; and,as an example of such. appliance the plates 7e and 7l are respectivelyprovided with rotative shats 95k and 94.- to which two arms 95 and 95and arms 95 and 96 vare secured respectively so as to swing adjacent t0the outer sides or the guide bars 48 and i9 respectively. Each arm hastwo'tingers 97 and 98, or similar lingers 97 -and 98', to forni a crotchto receive the wire portions, the finger 9i' being longer than the otherto serve as a guide to position the wire portions in'airly with thegrooves in the terminal bloclrs ot' the Welder heads when the wireportions are brought to place by the push rod. rlhe arm 95 has a finger99 thereon that extends downwardly beyond the shaft 9% to control thearms. It bracket 100 is secured to. the guide bar e8 and has a guide pinor roller 101 thereon that isl arranged to be engaged by the finger 99on upward movement or' the cross-headwhich carries the arm. rEhe shaft9% has also a lug1 102 secured thereto to which a spring 103 isconnected, the spring being connected also to the plate 7e forretracting the arms after operation. ri`he plate 'Til has a wing 104.1that extends along1 the outer side or' the guide bar d8 and it has astop pin 105 thereon against which the arm 95 is held by inea-ns of thespring 103. Preferably the plate has also an oppositely arranged wing106 thereon extending adjacent to the outer side ot the guide 'bar e9.lreierably the wings are slidingly arranged in connection with the guidebars 107 and` 108 secured to the outer sides of the bars lil-8 and l0respectively, tor guiding or assisting to guide the cross-head.Preferably two guides 10S.) and 110 are mounted on the guide bars i8 andi9 rcspectively so as to lead the banding wires from the weldcr heads tothe cutters.

Duringthe formation of the bales there are wire band portions 111 and112 on opposite sides respectively of the bales, and When each bale issuiiiciently lilled one wire is pushed over so that an end portion 112iof the band is formed to be united tothe portion 112. After the unitedportions are cut the remaining'wires 30 and 3i have a welded portion114i and becomes a loop into 'which the substance is packed to :tomianother bale.

in practical use an electrical current. is suitably orovided and thesubstance to be haled is led into the hopper 9 when the ram head isretractec., the repeated ihirwfJz-i'd movement or" the rare head causingthe substance to be packed into the chamber in the L wire loopspreviously formed by the band- `1ng wires. 1i/Jhen the proper amount orisc the substance is packed to form a bale the rotating wheel 21 causesthe pinion 24 to be rotated, With the result that the push bar 90 isoperated and iirst engages the banding Wire and pushes it through thebaling chamber to the wire 31, and then pushes both wires to the spacebetween the Welder heads which are then brought to the Wire portions bythe operation ot the rod S9 and the device described which connects therod With the cross-head 50. The Welding is automatically accomplishedand when the welded portions ot' the wires are released from the Welderheads on up movement oit' the cross-head, the cross-head carries thearms 95 and 96 upward until they take in the wire portions; a-nd Whilethe cross-head continues to move, the finger 99 on engagement With theguide pin or roller 101 causes the arms to be thrown over so as to carrythe Welded Wire portions between the cutters, after which the lowercutter is carried on up by thecrosshead until the Wire portions aresevered. The several parts are promptly retractedto be ready for-thesucceeding weldingoperation. lVhen the machine is continuously operatedthe banded or tied bales are rapidly I produced in succession and forcedout of the baling chamber. The various movements and results of theoperation of the various parts of the vmechanism will readily beunderstood from the detaileddescription of the construction andfunctions thereof Without requiring further explanation.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new isl. Anelectrica-l baleftie Welder including electrical Welder heads and alsocutting ap'- pliances separately located, a guide and carrier means forpushing banding wires to the Welder heads, and means including the'guide and carrier for drawing the Wires away from the Welder heads andto the cutting appliances.

2. An electrical bale-tie Welder including a Welder head and a cutterblade stationarily supported, a Welder head and a cutter blade movablysupported, means for guiding two Wire portions to the Welder heads, andmeans for guiding the Wire portions from the heads to the cutter blades.

3. An electrical bale-tie welding appa' ratus having a stationary cutterand a movable cutter, a pair of cooperating devices for moving twoportions of banding wire to the welding apparatus to be united, and apair of cooperating devices for moving the united portions of the balingWire from the' Welding apparatus to the cutters to be severed.

4. An electrical bale-tie Welder lhaving two Welder heads and means formoving one of the heads ltoward or from the other, two cooperatingcutters, means for moving one banding Wire to another and 'Moth Wirestogether to the Welder heads to be united, and means for moving theunited Wires from the Welder heads to the cutters to be severed.

5. An electrical bale-tie Welder' including a pair of Welder heads, one.of the heads being movable, a pair ot' cutter blades, one of the bladesbeing movable, a movably-supported device for pushing two Wire portionsto the Welder' heads, and a movably-supported device for taking the'Wire portions from the Welder heads to the cutter blades.

6. An electrical bale-tie Welder including a Welder head stationarilysupported, va Welder head arranged above the stationary head andsupported for vertical movement, a pair of cooperating cutters mountedadjacent to the Welder heads, means for taking two Wire portionslaterally to the Welder heads, and means for taking the Wire p0rtionslaterally from the Welder heads to the cutters.

7. An electrical bale-tie Welder having two Welder heads and twocutters, mea-ns for periodically moving one of the heads to- Ward theother and simultaneously moving one of the cutters away from the otheror vice versa, means for moving two Wire portions to the Welder heads tobe united, and means for moving the united wire portions from the-Welderheads to the cutters.

8. An electrical bale-tie Welder including two stationary guide barshaving two cutter blades mounted thereon in spaced-apart relation, across-head movably guided by the bars and having two cutter bladesmounted thereon in spaced-apart relation to cooperate With the othercutter blades respectively,

means for electrically uniting pairs ot Wire portions, and means fortaking the pairs of united Wire portions from the uniting means to thecooperating cutter blades.

9. In an electrical bale-tie Welder, the

combination of tW,o Welder heads arranged one above the other, means forstationarily supporting one of the Welder heads, means for movablysupporting the other of the two Welder heads, an electrical terminal`block movably mounted in one of the Welder heads, and an electricalterminal block mounted in the remaining one of the Welder heads.

10. In an electrical bale-'tie Welder, the combination with a balingchamber, and means on each side of the chamber to guide banding wires,of a pair of separate coperating electrical Welder heads mounted on oneside of the chamber, one of the. heads being guided for verticalmovement to or from the other and a push-bar pivotally supported on theopposite side of the baling chamber to take one of the Wires to theother and both Wires to a position between the separate Welder heads.

11. In an electrical bale-tie Welder, the combination of a pair ofcooperating Welder heads for electrically uniting Wire portions,

aeoaiee Y by the guide bars, two Welder heads mounted 'l respectively onthe guide bars and the crosshead, a Working-beam mounted on the frame, alink connected to the crosshead and the working-beam, a Wheel mounted onthe frame and having a crank pin, a connectingrod connected to theWorking-beam and the cranlopin of the Wheel, and means i'or rotating theWheel. n Y

13. ln Van electrical bale-tie Welder, the combination of a Jframe, apair of Welder heads mounted on the frame, .one of the heads beingmovable relatively to the other,

' a pair of cooperating cutters mounted in proximity to the Welderheads, one of the cutters being movable relatively to the other,

a push-bar movablyvmounted on the frame to take wire portions to theWelder heads, a throw-over device to take the Wire portions :trom theWelder heads to the cutters, and fr guide supported to cooperate withthe throi'vl over device.

14. ln an electrical bale-tie Welder, the combination of an uprightguide bar, a Welder head and an electrical contact device stationarilymounted on the guide bar, a coil spring uprightly supported in theWelder head above the contact device, an electrical terminal blockmovably guided in the Welder head and seated upon the spring, anelectrical contact rod secured to the block and extending downwardtoward the contact de vice, a movable cross-head vertically guided bythe guide bar, and a Welder head secured to the cross-head and having anelectrical terminal block thereon.`

l5. ln an electrical bale-tie Welder, the combination of a guide, across-head movably arranged on the guide, two Welder heads mountedrespectively on the guide and the cross-head, two cutters mountedrespectively on the guide and the cross-head, means or moving thecross-head periodically to and fro, a shaft rotatively mounted on thecross-head and having two arms secured thereto to swin on opposite sidesrespectively of the We der heads and the cutters, the arms being adaptedto take two wire portions away from the Welder heads and to the cutters,and means for controlling the movement ,of the arms on movement of thecross head.

16. ln an electrical bale-tie Welder, the combination of a stationaryguide having a guide pin thereon, a cross-head movable on the guide andhave a stop-pin thereon, a pair of cooperating Welder heads, one or' theheads being mounted on the guide and the other onlthe cross-head, a pairor' coperating cutters, one of the cutters being mounted on the guideand the other on the cross head, and an arm pivotally mounted on thecrosshead, and spring-pressed to the stop-pin, the arm having a crotchto receive and take wire portions from the Welder heads to the cutters,the arm having also a finger to engage the guide pin on movement ot Vthecrosshead in one direction to operate the arm.

ln testimony whereof, l affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Lewis B. Wreanfr.

Witnesses U. M. 'Witteman G. R. DUNrHY.

